Whilst diamonds may be every girl’s best friend.. it seems money is not every woman’s.
Financial stress is common place for many Australian women with more than half of women stating that they find dealing with money to be stressful and overwhelming.
And it seems that women are doing it tougher than men.
Research shows that women are almost twice as likely than men to have had to seek financial help or borrow money from family and friends.
Women are twice as likely than men to be unable to pay for medical expenses and are more likely to have gone without food due to lack of finances.
Many women aren’t prepared for a rainy day with more than 30 per cent stating they’d be unable to cover their expenses for more than one month without increasing their debt levels. This compares to just 17 per cent of men in the same situation.
Women are less financially resilient. Those aged 28 to 59 years are more likely than men to get into trouble with debt.
Women are more likely to have missed a loan or credit card repayment and are less likely to be able to maintain a regular savings habit.
In fact approximately 50 per cent of women have less than two months income in savings.
This is the current reality that many Australian women are facing.
Yet the financial future isn’t necessarily bright for all women either with around 90 per cent of women likely to retire with inadequate savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.
In fact one in three will have little or no superannuation at all.
These are just some of the statistics that we feel require our full attention.
For some time now we’ve been researching the financial reality of women in Australia. As part of our crowdfunding campaign and to help “spread the word” and increase awareness around these issues facing all Australian women.
We’ve put together a detailed brief: Facts about Australian women and money that may surprise you. It may even SHOCK you!
Our conclusion:
For many women, money is not their best friend. Many women find dealing with money boring, stressful or overwhelming.
Australia has one of the top superannuation systems in the world, but gender equity isn’t there.
There remains a significant gender gap in income and roles at work. Financial resilience is a national issue for men and women, with limited ability to withstand financial shocks.
Many women are financially vulnerable, and relationship breakdowns often leave nasty financial legacies. The future is bright for some women, but not many.
